The turn of the century St. Louis Rams had an offense so potent and so fast and so talented that they were deemed "The Greatest Show on Turf", accumulating a 14-2 record on their way to an NFC West division championship and home field advantage on their way to a second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons and an opportunity to usher in a dynasty...
...the New England Patriots had something to say about that, however.
One of the Rams' 14 wins in 2001 came at the expense of the Patriots at Foxboro Stadium - a brutally physical game that caused Rams' offensive coordinator Mike Martz to sing the praises of the Patriots, calling them a "Super Bowl quality team.", despite the loss dropping New England to 5-5.
Little did anyone know at the time, but the Patriots would not lose another game that season, upsetting the heavily favored Rams 20-17 for the world championship - and did so in beating those spectacular weapons of the St. Louis offense into submission.
That's right, the Patriots defense keyed on crucial weapons Quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk and gave them the beating of a lifetime - the mantra being "Hit them when they have the ball, and hit them when they don't." - and it worked to perfection.
Since the beginning of recorded history, tacticians have always attempted to find ways to counter a superior invading force, and it usually ends up being a matter of winning enough of the small skirmishes to turn the tide of the war - that's what the Patriots did to the Rams in Super Bowl 36, and that's what they need to do in Sunday afternoon's battle with the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints are absolutely loaded with weapons on offense, a franchise quarterback that puts up ridiculous numbers, even being a six-foot-nothing shrimp, and has an arsenal of pass catchers that can overwhelm any secondary with sheer size and speed - their physical stature the most imposing in the National Football League.
If the Saints so desired, they could go with a spread offense featuring a 6' 4" Marques Colston, 6' 4" Nick Toon and a 6' 2" Robert Meachem - and anchor the whole squad with the 6' 7" tight end Jimmy Graham - and if that doesn't kill you, quarterback Drew Brees can always go small and get the ball to diminutive running back Darren Sproles in the flat and let his pure devilish speed burn the defense.
Not even the Greatest Show on Turf had such a prolific lineup, but just like that squad, the Saints can be beaten - but it's going to take a massive physical beating to these weapons on the field to administer a beating on the scoreboard.
It's a tall task - pun intended - and it all starts with the Patriots' offense doing their part and running the ball successfully and keeping Brees and his freak sideshow off the field, winning the time of possession battle and limiting the Saints' number of possessions - then it's a matter of extraordinary discipline on the part of the defense...
The Saints run for a paltry 3.1 yards per carry average, but that doesn't mean that they won't take their shots right into the middle of the Patriots' interior line, where two rookie tackles are backed up by a second year man who has one game of NFL experience - and just the fact that the strength of the Saints' offensive line happens to be the trio of left guard Ben Grubbs, center Brian De La Puente and right guard Jahri Evans, one could reasonably expect the Saints to try their hand at some power football.
And it's not like New Orleans doesn't have backs that can take advantage of a situation like this, it's just that their passing game gets all of the attention. Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram are capable between the tackles backs, Sproles will carry off tackle and diamond in the rough Khiry Robinson can do it all - but mostly what they do is catch passes, Thomas and Sproles second and third on the team in receptions behind Graham.
The tackles are the weakest link on the offense, but they don't give up that many sacks because Brees has been able to get the ball out quickly, his backs being reliable safety valves when things are covered well down the field.
All of this said and being true, how in the hell do the Patriots stop this juggernaut?
Patience, discipline, violence, and a little thing folks around these parts like to call the "Faulk Treatment". Key on the weapons available to Brees and hit them - getting full value from the five yard cushion afforded to defensive backs to disrupt the timing of the Saints' precision offense, all hands on deck and no free releases - and, of course, punish Brees at every opportunity...
...and if the receivers do catch the ball anyway, make sure they pay the price - in pain. Make them skittish to catch the ball. That's the violent part, and that is always a given in football - patience and discipline come in as part of the individual game plan.
Patience and discipline come into play starting with the pass rush. As noted, the strength of the offensive line is the interior, and Brees is a shorter quarterback. This is an area where New England can take advantage by bringing taller players - generally defensive ends - into the middle as undersized tackles, specifically Chandler Jones.
A four man line consisting of Jones and a rotation of heavyweights at tackle, and a mixture of taller ends such as Michael Buchanan and Jake Bequette not just rushing the passer but also displaying the discipline to stay in the gaps and getting their hands up to shield Brees vision is the first line of defense - hitting the receivers coming off the line helps in that if Brees can't see his receivers, delaying them to getting to their spots on timing throws will cause incompletions and, hopefully, interceptions.
Another area in which patience and discipline will alter the Saints' game is for the second level to sniff out and blow up Brees' screen game and making the flat unavailable. The Faulk treatment, hitting the back coming out of the backfield and not allowing them to release into the pattern is paramount to the success of the game plan for Patriots' coach Bill Belichick - and there are many options available to him to fulfill this obligation.
But the key to the Saints' offense is the talent and size of tight end Jimmy Graham - and his presence is obviously a huge advantage for Brees and the offense, but it also makes them predictable.
When he is in the game, he will be the primary target down the field. If he is lined up as an inline blocker, the play will likely be going the opposite direction - If he is not in the game, the Saints usually go to their "22 Personnel" package with two beefy tight end and two running backs...
...from which they will just as likely to throw from as run, so discipline and gap responsibility should never wane, no matter the formation.
A tight end for labeling purposes only, Graham should be listed as a wide receiver. Rarely set as an inline blocker, Graham lines up split wide most of the time and gets downfield in a hurry, so it is imperative that the Patriots' corners are aggressive with him and take advantage of the five yard contact zone to mug him. Most likely the responsibility for Graham will lie primarily with Aqib Talib, but also at times Alfonzo Dennard.
Regardless of who has him in coverage, there will be a safety over the top to afford the corner a bit of autonomy to be aggressive at the line of scrimmage, and the same goes for Colston, Toon and Meachem - they must be roughed up at the line, never giving them free release, because if they are allowed to run free, the result will probably not be what Patriots' fans will want to see.
But perhaps the unit that must have the greatest impact for the Patriots is their linebackers - not just for coverage purposes, but also by staying true to their responsibilities of manning the passing lanes and making plays on the ball from underneath. If there are turnovers to be had from the Saints' offense, it will most likely come from the likes of Jerod Mayo, Brandon Spikes and Dont'a Hightower disguising their intentions at the second level.
The Patriots have the athletes on defense to pull off the Faulk Treatment, and it is games like this where you may see someone like a Jamie Collins and a Duron Harmon more involved for their coverage abilities as the big nickle, perhaps even seeing Steve Beauharnais active due to his experience as a nickle safety in college before switching to inside linebacker.
In the end, the Patriots will have to administer beatings on every play, hitting Brees and Graham and Sproles, et al, whether they have the ball in their possession or not.
Five teams have tried, and all five have failed - and the team that has come the closest to beating them on the scoreboard is a team that the Patriots handled well in Foxborough a few weeks back in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs did everything right, holding the Saints to 16 points, staying disciplined on defense, all except a final desperation drive where Brees and Graham burned them to pull out the game.
Lesson learned? The Patriots' defense can not afford even a momentary loss of focus - and also must display a healthy balance of aggression and patience at the same time. Brees is too good and his weapons too dangerous for the Patriots to come with anything but their best effort.
The good news is that if Talib can limit Graham and Sproles and Thomas neutralized by the defense with violent intent, the Saints' could be in for their first loss of the season.
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